Police try to clear at path as Jian Ghomeshi makes his way through a mob of media with his lawyer Marie Henein (right) at a Toronto court Wednesday, November 26, 2014. T Darren Calabrese / THE CANADIAN PRESS

There is rarely anything simple about an allegation of sexual assault. So while it’s tempting to jump to quick conclusions about specific cases, we should remember that it’s difficult to know what really happened at an event with no witnesses, much less prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

And for a person in a position of authority, judging how to respond to an allegation of inappropriate behaviour is an agonizing task. The stakes are high and the verifiable information is often low.

Many observers rushed to immediate judgement at key milestones in two recent public cases. Some claim Justin Trudeau acted too quickly, others that the CBC did not move quickly enough. Some wondered how one alleged victim could have denied consent when she produced a condom. Why did another go to the apartment of the accused, when he had supposedly demonstrated a violent tendency on a previous date?

Especially when it’s something as personal, subjective and intimate as sex, even the people who were there may have conflicting points of view without either of them deliberately distorting the truth. Some incidents are unambiguously rape or harassment, but others are significantly less easy to judge based only on the accounts of the people who were there.

Even the factors that some people point to as a smoking gun don’t tell the whole story. Just because someone seems to go along with what’s happening, even if they produce a birth-control device, doesn’t mean they are in agreement. They may simply have chosen what they feel is the safest of two highly undesirable options.

The difficulty in verifying exactly what happened and what people were thinking is one of the reasons sexual assault allegations are difficult to prove in court. And the low odds of bringing a case to a conviction, combined with the extraordinary cost to both parties of publicizing a case, plays a part in why so few cases are reported to police.

With the benefit of hindsight and from a safe and comfortable position on the sidelines, everything looks very straightforward. It’s easy to say you never would have put yourself in that situation. Or you would have acted immediately to suspend an employee under similar circumstances, or never allowed bad behaviour to continue.

But these are difficult judgement calls, often awash in grey rather than sorted neatly into black and white. And given the life-changing impact on both the alleged victim and the accused, it’s not surprising some people hesitate before proceeding down an irreversible path.

Along with the denunciations and rush judgements, the recent cases have provoked a meaningful dialogue about workplace harassment and sexual assault. Many victims have spoken privately and publicly about their experiences for the first time. The groundswell of voices has raised awareness and provided comfort and solidarity to other victims.

But while I applaud those who have spoken up, I hope they haven’t raised their expectations to an unrealistic level. A new level of awareness and discussion is healthy and is often the first step toward change. Perhaps we’ll look back on this year as a turning point in battling a culture of protecting perpetrators, especially those who are in powerful positions.

Unfortunately, however, increased awareness of the issues won’t transform some of the inherently difficult dynamics surrounding cases of sexual assault and harassment, nor will they make achieving a decisive outcome, like a criminal conviction, any easier.

Some of the people who initially said nothing about Jian Ghomeshi, for example, have overcome their reluctance and now feel empowered to speak out. But will they feel the same way if he is acquitted of the charges against him? Have we reached a new frontier in empowering victims to speak up, or will other victims watching this case unfold be discouraged if the results of these public cases are unsatisfying?

Despite all the healthy discussion, one fact remains: sexual assault allegations are difficult to prove. We should all hope that the discussion sparked by recent events creates meaningful change. But we shouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen quickly or easily.

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